Eggja (Langeheida), Apr 28 2016

A wonderful afternoon ski-trip

After yesterday’s terrible descent from Veirahaldet (windpacked snow and crust), I knew I had to be earlier on the summit than 7:22pm to ensure OK skiing conditions down mountains where the descent route is facing the evening sun.

So when I decided to go to Eggja (above Halse, Ørsta) this afternoon, I left work a little earlier and was at the trailhead already at 4:30pm. The distance to the summit was only 3,1km and the vertical gain only 842m. My only goal was to get to the summit before the snow got an icy crust so that I could have a wonderful run down the mountain. I did, and here’s a video clip with pictures from the ascent and video from the descent:

I carried the skis on my backpack from Halse (140m) up to 380m (near the top of the forest) and took a bearing on Eggja’s high point. The snow was soft, but there was a base beneath that prevented me and Karma from sinking in too deep.

On the way to Eggja

The highlight of the ascent was of course Liadalsnipa – one of my favorite mountains. I’ve done the normal route a number of times, and also the traverse a couple of times. I’ve also done it with snow left on the mountain, and that was a challenging trip!

Liadalsnipa. The normal route is up the ridge facing the camera

It took us 1h:15m to get to the summit. The upper 50 meters had windpacked snow, but it looked as I would avoid the icy crust (when the sun has been on for hours and the temperature drops).

The upper 50 meters were also a bit steep. Karma ran straight down with large snowballs tumbling after her. I was slightly worried about avalanche, as there is a level 3 danger in many parts in western Norway right now. But there were tracks from 3 skiers – probably from yesterday or earlier in the day, and there were no signs of avalanche danger.

The upper part felt like something between 30 and 35 degrees.

And the run down was good! Well worth the 45 minute drive (each way), carrying the skis and everything. It was just SO nice! I’m not a speed freak so I controlled my speed in the upper hillside, but could let go after that.

A beautiful hillside for a ski-descent

I had forgotten about a section without snow and had a nasty fall (it’s in the video clip), but came through it without any bruises. A few minutes later, the skis were on the backpack once again and I returned to Halse 6:30pm, 2 hours after arriving there.